Not sure what circadian rhythm disorders are?Don’t worry, in this article we explain, I’m sure you’ve already had insomnia, because it’s common in the population.
There are times when we have trouble sleeping, you go to bed and you can only walk around, but you can’t fall asleep, other times he wakes up earlier than he would have liked and couldn’t fall asleep again. In these cases, it’s called insomnia.
- This can happen for several reasons.
- Most of the time.
- It is the product of poor sleep hygiene habits (sleeping in front of the TV.
- Taking stimulants before going to sleep?).
- Other times.
- This may be due to stress and high levels of nervous system activation.
However, circadian rhythm disorders are characterized precisely by interruptions in circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is the name given to the “internal body clock”, which regulates the 24-hour cycle of biological processes in animals and plants.
Circadian rhythms are intrinsic periodic biological rhythms that occur with an interval of 24 hours, based on the daily rotation of the Earth around the Sun (day-night cycle), a term that comes from the Latin ‘circa’ meaning ‘around’ and ‘Dian?’means ‘day’. So its meaning is ‘all day’. In mammals, the most important circadian rhythm is the sleep-wake cycle.
Circadian rhythms are not only found in humans. Virtually all life forms, including plants, flies, fish and bacteria, have circadian rhythms. The processes involved in natural sleep work at circadian rhythms. As human beings, we are designed to have a natural dream. cycle that corresponds to the day-night cycle, so that we can sleep at night and be awake during the day.
Circadian rhythms are important not only to determine the sleep and eating habits of animals, they are also essential for the activity of all hormonal axes, cell regeneration and brain activity, among others.
Several researchers have concluded that there must be a structure in the body that is responsible for establishing our circadian rhythms.
In fact, this structure exists and is called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus is located in the hypothalamus region of the brain and is located just behind the eyes. This area takes care of sleeping at night and waking up during the day.
If you fall asleep or wake up a few hours early, this is usually not a problem; however, it can become a problem when you can’t wake up or stay awake during your workday.
Therefore, your sleep schedule becomes a problem and can be diagnosed with circadian rhythm disorders.
To diagnose a circadian rhythm disorder, certain requirements or sets of symptoms must be present:
A. Continuous or recurrent pattern of sleep disturbance: pattern that is due to a change in the circadian system or a misalignment between endogenous circadian rhythm and the necessary sleep-wake synchronization; need that depends on the physical environment of the individual or the social or professional programming of the individual.
B. La sleep disturbance causes excessive sleepiness or insomnia, or both.
C. Changing sleep causes clinically significant discomfort or deterioration in social, professional, or other important areas where the person plays an active role.
There are several types of circadian rhythm disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5):
It is mainly based on a history of delay in the main period of sleep (usually more than two hours) compared to the desired time to sleep and wake up, causing symptoms of insomnia and excessive sleepiness.
When they can adjust their own schedule, people with this problem have a normal sleep quality and duration for their age. Symptoms include early insomnia, difficulty waking up in the morning and excessive sleepiness early in the day.
Symptoms usually begin in adolescence or early adulthood. They may persist for several months or even years before the diagnosis is made. Severity can decrease with age and symptoms often recur. worsens the situation.
It is characterized by sleep-wake times several hours before the scheduled or conventional time. Diagnosis is based primarily on the history of the progress of the main sleep period (usually more than two hours) compared to the desired time to sleep and get up.
This causes symptoms of early awakening and excessive daytime sleepiness. When they can adjust their own schedules, people with advanced sleep types have a normal sleep quality and duration for their age. This disorder can be documented with the “family” specifier, a family history of advanced stages of sleep in this type of disorder.
The onset of the disorder usually occurs at the end of adulthood. The course is persistent and lasts more than 3 months.
The type of irregular sleep-wakefulness is mainly based on the history of symptoms of insomnia at night (normal sleep period) and excessive sleepiness (siestes) during the day; this type is characterized by the absence of a recognizable circadian sleep-wake rhythm. . There is no main period of sleep and sleep is fragmented in at least three periods during 24 hours.
Diagnosis of this type is mainly based on a history of symptoms of insomnia or excessive sleepiness associated with an abnormal synchronization between the 24-hour light-dark cycle and endogenous circadian rhythm. People with this disorder have periods of insomnia, excessive sleepiness, or both. alternating with short periods without symptoms.
This type is more common in blind and visually impaired people because they have a lower perception of light, while in people with vision there is also an increase in sleep duration.
In this type, there is an out-of-hours work history from 8:00 a. m. to 6 p. m. (especially at night) on a regular basis.
Persistent symptoms of excessive work sleepiness and sleep disturbances at home are relevant; symptoms go away when the person resumes their daily work routine; on the other hand, people traveling in different time zones can often have similar effects.
If you have any of these types of circadian rhythm disorders, we recommend that you return to “normal” sleep?”As soon as possible. If this sounds complicated or if you can’t do it yourself, it’s a good idea to consult a psychologist to discuss your problem.